Gravel pit site plans complete; next hearing on project Jan. 8

Thursday

Dec 6, 2012 at 3:15 AM

By Liz Markhlevskayalmark@fosters.com

BARRINGTON — Trinity Conservation LLC will have to address several concerns about its proposed gravel pit in a residential area on Green Hill Road before the Planning Board officially approves its application for the excavation site.

After Tuesday’s public hearing, which drew about 80 residents from Barrington and Rochester, the Planning Board accepted site plans for the gravel pit as complete. Another public hearing on the project is scheduled for Jan. 8.

“They’ve still got the journey ahead of them but they’ve taken the first step of starting the journey,” said Town Administrator John Scruton about the site plans for the project.

Now that the application has been accepted, the plans will be reviewed by the town’s engineering consultants and the Strafford Regional Planning Commission, which will study the project’s regional impact.

The proposed gravel pit would be located on 95-acre piece of land off Green Hill Road, and would be at the Rochester town line.

On Tuesday, Rochester Mayor T.J. Jean said Rochester officials received information about the project, and city officials will likely write a letter to the Barrington Planning Board with their opinion on the project. He said Lilac City residents living close to the proposed excavation site have expressed concern about the plans.

The gravel pit would be in proximity to Jessica Drive and Stillwater Circle in Rochester. It would be about 1,800 feet away from Green Hill Road, and about 2,500 feet from Hansonville Road in Barrington.

On Jan. 8, representatives for Trinity Conservation are scheduled to address several concerns raised by town planners. Trinity Conservation will have to show the project will comply with regulations pertaining to dust levels, distance from homes, distance from the Isinglass River, maintenance of vegetation, and drainage, said Town Planner Marcia Gasses.

One of the issues needing to be addressed is that Green Hill Road does not have an adequate base under the pavement to handle the truck traffic being proposed.

“It would cause accelerated breakdown of the road,” said Gasses.

She said that test borings that were done on the road showed that 18 inches of base are needed under the pavement on Green Hill Road in order to handle the proposed truck traffic, while the road currently only has about six inches of base.

If the project were to move forward, Trinity Conservation would have to decide what kinds of improvements it would be willing to make to Green Hill Road. Gasses said the town is not planning to reconstruct the road for another eight to 10 years.

While the entire proposed excavation area would be about 60 acres, the site would be excavated incrementally. Once excavation of the first phase is complete, the area would be covered with vegetation, and then another gravel pit would be created as part of phase two.

The first phase of the project is about 1,200 feet from the nearest home.

Once excavation of the site is complete, Trinity Conservation is planning to build a conservation subdivision, consisting of homes and areas of open space.

A blasting operation on a ledge on the property is also part of the plans, which is located next to the proposed gravel pit area in phase one. The ledge, which would be blasted for crushed stone, is located about 1,000 feet from the closest home.

Gasses said residents have expressed concerns about potential noise as a result of the blasting operation. She said the town does have an ordinance restricting levels of noise during certain parts of the day.

The Planning Board on Tuesday also discussed conducting a site walk of the property where the gravel pit would be, but no site walk has been scheduled so far.

According to Barbara Irvine, the town’s land use secretary, gravel pits became an allowed use in residential zones in 2005, when the town was going through a rezoning process. Previously, applicants wishing to build a gravel pit in a residential zone had to get a variance from the Zoning Board of Adjustment rather than going directly to the Planning Board.

Plans for the gravel pit will come before the Conservation Commission in the near future, as well as the Isinglass River Local Advisory Committee.

Residents with questions about the proposed project are encouraged to visit the land use office at the Town Hall to view the application materials and speak with the planning staff.